House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pushed back on “nativist dog whistles” after reports emerged about members of his party planning to start an “America First Caucus” that preaches “Anglo-Saxon political traditions.”
The California Republican took a swipe at some members of his own party Friday afternoon, hours after the reports of the caucus surfaced. The caucus’s backers include Republicans such as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Florida and Paul Gosar of Arizona.
“America is built on the idea that we are all created equal and success is earned through honest, hard work. It isn’t built on identity, race, or religion,” McCarthy wrote on Twitter. “The Republican Party is the party of Lincoln & the party of more opportunity for all Americans — not nativist dog whistles.”
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Parts of the platform include opposition to “foreign citizens” getting “imported en-masse into a country, particularly without institutional support for assimilation,” and it praised European architecture such as the aqueducts, “walls and roads” that prove “function and beauty are not at odds,” according to the draft policy platform first obtained by Punchbowl News.
Greene was removed from her committee assignments earlier in 2021 over her past statements, including the promotion of anti-Semitism, her support for conspiracy theories, and her social media interactions. Gosar spoke at an alternative to the Conservative Political Action Committee on Feb. 26, which was hosted by an online personality who has engaged in apparent Holocaust denialism and downplayed Jim Crow laws.
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Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz indicated his support for the caucus on social media. He is under investigation by the Department of Justice over whether he had sex with a 17-year-old or paid for prostitutes, both of which are claims he denies.
I’m proud to join @mtgreenee in the #AmericaFirst Caucus.
We will end wars, stop illegal immigration & promote trade that is fair to American workers.
This is just a hit piece from the America Last crowd in Big Media, Big Tech & Big Government.https://t.co/hjGiuSLwBW
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) April 16, 2021
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney also spoke out against the caucus.
“Racism, nativism, and anti-Semitism are evil,” she tweeted. “History teaches we all have an obligation to confront & reject such malicious hate.”
